A coalition of peace, human rights and left groups and movements, among them Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) will demonstrate today (Sunday, July 10) outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem, in an effort to prevent the passage of the “Boycott Bill,” which is expected to be voted into law by the Knesset tomorrow.
The legislation, sponsored by coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), allows citizens to bring civil suits against people and organizations that call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts against Israel, Israeli institutions, or “regions under Israeli control.”
MK Dov Khenin during a demonstration in Tel-Aviv against occupation in Tel-Aviv,
June 2011 (Photo: Al Ittihad)
It would prevent the government from doing business with companies that initiate or comply with such boycotts. Elkin and Kadima MKs initiated the bill following reports that companies had accepted contracts to build the new Palestinian city of Rawabi, north of Ramallah, that were contingent on accepting boycotts of Israel.
Efforts by Israeli actors to boycott the Center for the Performing Arts in the Ariel settlement that opened last November in the occupied Palestinian territories also inspired the legislation.
Peace Now sent all 120 MKs black flags to warm them of the ramifications of the bill, which the organization warns will turn the Knesset into a “thought police” and severely limit freedom of expression.
“At a time when the leaders of the country are encouraging the public to boycott high-priced dairy products, the Knesset wants to forbid by law the use of a legitimate tool for citizens to express their political opinion,” Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer wrote the lawmakers. “Even those who support the settlements should maintain the public discourse over their future and prevent forcing their opinions on others via antidemocratic legislation in the Knesset.”
A spokesman for the Coalition of Women for Peace, which is organizing Sunday’s rally, said the legislation could still be defeated, because there are MKs in the coalition who oppose it.
According to the bill, not even participating, but just making a public call for boycott is considered a civil wrong which is punishable by a variety of measures enumerated in the bill. Furthermore, NGOs who are found guilty of calling for a boycott would be in danger of losing tax exemptions and the loss of eligibility for benefits afforded by various laws, so this is a political aimed at damaging and limiting the operations of human rights organizations in Israel.
Furthermore, the bill does not specify any difference between Israel inside and outside the Green Line, but rather simply states “The State of Israel,” meaning that if this passes into law, Israel will be prohibiting a legitimate and democratic expression of protest against the occupation. This means that even the Israeli artists and their supporters who are boycotting the Cultural Center in the Ariel settlement would be implicated.
Left-wing members of Knesset spoke fervently against the bill. MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) called it an “insane, fascist and delusional” bill, while all Hadash MKs said it was an anti-democratic law that undermines the freedom of expression and aimed at silencing criticism.
MK Hanna Swaid (Hadash) said the law is aimed at “perpetuating the occupation,” adding that it “violates freedom of expression and every citizen’s right to choose to boycott products from the occupied territories. There is racism here which must be condemned.”
Related:
http://maki.org.il/en/political/132-articles/10592-anti-boycott-bill-passes-first-knesset-reading
